Sharing skills, raising funds

Science and philanthropy came together again at the West Otago Hay and Baleage Auction recently.

Dozens of rural professionals, including farmers and more than 80 sponsors, gathered at Tapanui’s A&P showgrounds on July 19 to measure stock feed expertise and raise funds for the community.

"When you’ve got a surplus of grass in the warmer months, you’ll obviously want to store it for later, and everyone knows there’s a difference between hay and silage," Kelso sheep and beef farmer Lindsay Alderton said.

"But baleage can be specific crops like oats and barley, baled at just the right time for nutritional content, moisture, sugars ... and how you use it depends on type, weight, machinery, gradient of the land.

"If you’re raising stock you’ll want as much baleage as you can grow. If not, you’ll likely be producing baleage as a cash crop to supply other farms.

"Right now, for example, my flock tested at 1.83 lambs per ewe, [so] my eye is on getting them the right feed at the right time to maximise the health and survival rate of their lambs."

Quirky contests such as the tallest kale and ugliest swede also featured at the festival, where about 150 bales of quality feed were scrutinised, judged and awarded prizes before being donated and auctioned to raise funds for West Otago Lions Club.

"A bale can be worth between $70 and $140, and almost every year since 1982 the auction raises around $40,000 for Lions, which share out to community causes like the ambulance service, kindies and playgrounds, clubs and groups," Lions Club representative Todd Hessey said.

"It’s a fun afternoon with a barbecue and socialising and the prizegiving is a pretty modest affair, but I think a reason it’s so well supported is the knowledge this crucial part of farming calls for.

"It is an opportunity to show off your skills a little bit."

nick.brook@alliedpress.co.nz